I am thinking about getting Toby a thin, leather collar just for his tags. I've noticed that Ella's Lead has some, so I'm considering one of them, but I figured I'd ask if anyone else has a collar that they'd recommend. I don't want something with the information ON the collar, because I move a lot. I'll continue to use tags, just trying to find an affordable, yet stylish, collar for Tobes.

My guys don't wear collars at home at all...so I just rotate through their regular collars when we're out. I'm not sure I get the point of the tag collars, though I find them pretty. I want a "real" collar for dogs that I may have to grab quickly (fosters, boarders)...

"I don't have any idea if my dogs respect me or not, but they're greedy and I have their stuff." -- Patty Ruzzo

"Dogs don't want to control people. They want to control their own lives." --John Bradshaw

Inara is naked at home, and jingling tags drive me absolutely batty. The thought of Inara wearing a collar 24/7, let alone a collar WITH JINGLING TAGS 24/7 *shudder* just makes me twitchy. I just keep her tags in a leather pocket holder that gets transferred to whichever collar she is wearing when we go out.

"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

I have to agree, I don't really get the point of "tag collars" if they are too light weight to use as a collar I don't want it on my dog. Because you know the first time you bring the dog out for "just a quick pee" that will be the time that something happens and you've only got an undersized, understrength collar on the dog.

Michelle

Inside me is a thin woman trying to get out. I usually shut the bitch up with a martini.

Well, at the new house we'll have a fence, but I plan on having a tie out in the backyard for when he does go outside, so he'll probably have a harness for that. I don't like keeping his 1.5" collars on him 24/7 anymore, so I was thinking about a 1" collar for him to wear around the house. But now I'm thinking maybe he should be naked, but I'm not 100% comfortable with that. If anything did happen and he slipped out a door or something, I certainly wouldn't want him running around without a collar and tags, for two reasons. One, it's somewhat rural Oklahoma and it wouldn't surprise me if an uncollared, loose pit bull was shot. Two, most people here don't check for a microchip. They post on Craigslist with a "found dog" and ask for the owner to claim him or if anyone else is interested, they can come have him. I'm just not willing to risk not making it super obvious to people in the incredibly rare chance that something DID happen. Although if Toby was lost, I'm pretty sure the whole town would hear about it.

But at any rate, he wouldn't go outside without the proper equipment. I just want something in the house that's not quite as bulky. I would love to have him naked all the time (he is sometimes), and while he's only gotten loose once in the past several years (and it was totally my fault), I just don't feel totally comfortable with it. I'm not thinking of anything 1/2 plastic snap... Haha, it's still got to be fairly strong, probably an inch and traditional buckle. I think I actually have an older one from Petco that used to be his actual collar that will work for what I want.

An inch wide leather collar is certainly sturdy enough for an every day collar, perhaps just keep it one hole bigger than normal. To small to easily slip over the head, but big enough that it moves around. I think Erin has a few hemp ones that her dogs wear loose like that.

My point was only that the people selling "tag collars" specifically state that they are not to be used for leash collars because they aren't sturdy enough for that use. This is a quote from a site that sells tag collars:

Tag collars are made to be very light weight. They are meant only to hold tags, not to restrain your dog or to walk your dog on lead etc. The tags should be attached to the collar on the slide that adjusts the collar.

Personally, we always have collars on our dogs. Having two on crate and rotate necessitates that because if we ever make a mistake, or one of them decides to break out of his crate, we must be able to control the situation as quickly as possible. If you are a one pet house, obviously you don't have that issue, but not having a way to control my dog if necessary scares me.

It's funny about removing collars. When I take them off of our dogs they get SUPER excited because I'm sure they are itchy under there. So we give them some good scratches, but then when I hold the collar out all of them stick their neck in like "yup, this is mine." I'm sure it helps that all of our collars are fancy-dancy ones, so they know they look goooooood.

Michelle

Inside me is a thin woman trying to get out. I usually shut the bitch up with a martini.

Oh, I guess my original post wording was misleading. Thanks for pointing that out!

An update on this, Toby has been naked inside and I'll put a collar on him to go outside. He seems pretty happy inside, and I love petting his neck now. Haha, I've also been more strict on crating while the doors are being opened/closed. As long as I live alone, I think I'll leave him naked. I'll probably get a 1" collar for when we move in with Allen, just in case! Luckily, he is also very easy to collar and doesn't make it difficult. He sticks his head out and waits. He's such a good dog... most of the time. Haha